Is it Reflux?

[Anonymous]

I am new here and trying to determine if my 7 week old truly has reflux or is just fussy/colicky. My Doctor prescribed Zantac at his one month check-up for symptoms of fussiness/excessive crying, difficulty feeding (at times), spitting up. We also discovered blood in his stool and switched his formula to Nutrimagen. After making the formula switch, things improved. However, lately the Zantac seems to have no effect and he has more intense crying spells where he seems to be in pain. He cries so hard that I don’t know what to do. I should add that they only last 10-30 minutes and seem to be when transitioning from wake-sleep. He has also started the nightime fussiness which includes the intense crying but it starts around the same time each night and may last anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Sometimes during feedings he has difficulty where he will stop feeding, arch, and cry but this does not happen at every feeding. He also simply will not sleep for extended times on his back. At night, he may sleep an hour at a time (if that) so I am getting no sleep. During the day, under my supervision, he will sleep for extended times (sometimes up to 3 hours) on his stomach. So, what does everyone think? I am wondering if this sounds like reflux to everyone. Some of my questions: did your baby fuss with every feeding or just some?; How much did they cry and could you console them?; How do I know if he is in pain when crying or just being fussy/overtired? It would be so very helpful if others could describe a typical day with their reflux baby.

Thanks so much for your help. This sight has been so helpful!

[Anonymous]

Sounds like something is wrong even if it isn’t reflux. But I tend to think reflux. Have you had his stools checked for blood again? Maybe that he needs to be on something like Neocate/elecare instead of the Nutramigen. The Zantac is very weight sensitive so if he is gaining wt well then the dose have not be enough any more. Many of us have not had ANY luck with zantac and have had to move on the stronger meds like prevacid/zegerid/nexium. one easy thing you could try to see if the problem is reflux related is give him some Cherry Mylanta Supreme (probably no more than 1 ml) If he calms down then you have a pretty good indication that his thoart was hurting from the spitting up. I am sure others will chime in as well. HTH.

[hellbennt]

how much does baby weigh? we can help you calculate the maximum dose for him, until you get everything else all together as well…Zantac dosing- my/other’s question: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9539&PID=82914#82914

I also would get his stool checked again…

You might want to try tummy sleeping?

This is from the American Academy of Pediatrics & how they recommend that tummy sleeping is best for GERD babies. http://www.aap.org/new/sids/question.htm (thanks Sherry & Christine!)

There’s a monitor that you can use called the Angel Care Monitor that many of the parents on this board have had great success with. Jonah was sent home with a monitor from the hospital, so I don’t know firsthand about the Angel Care monitor, but here’s all about it: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/search.asp?KW=angelcare&SM=2&SI=TC&FM=0&OB=2

BEANIE BABY: for day time naps I suggest this: Try putting him on his tummy & put a beanie baby on his back for 2 reasons- to see that he’s breathing (the beanie baby will go up & down )

& for the weight- put your hand on his back & then slowly leave it & the beanie baby is there instead…

For sleeping, there’s also the Tucker Sling that people rave about: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/search.asp?KW=tucker&S M=1&SI=TC&FM=0&OB=2

as well as the Amby Hammock: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/search.asp?KW=amby&SM= 1&SI=TC&FM=0&OB=2

for ‘awake’ fussy times I cannot rave more about babywearing! It SAVED US. Saved. Us. All.of.us.

Babywearing: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=1044&PN=1

I have a LOT MORE to say & (most of) it’s here:

J

Groupie Intro: my intro: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=853&PN=1&TPN=1

so glad you found us!

~laura

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your input. After a very difficult past few days I spoke with the pediatrician and he decided I should try prevacid. I am to give 1/2 of a 15 mg pill once per day. After reading through this site, I am skeptical that this will be enough. He also suggested that I may need to try Alimentum since it is not exactly the same as Nutramigen and some babies respond better to one over the other. Does anyone have experience with this? Also, this morning I gave my baby his first dose of Prevacid and maybe it was just a coincidence, but he had a terrible episode for his feeding that followed. I am scared to give him his dose in the morning but I will stick it out to see what happens. Also, my Doctor said to discontinue the Zantac now that I am giving the Prevacid and I am reluctant to do that after reading this site. I also got the Cherry Mylanta and haven’t noticed a marked improvement after using it. I hope things improve soon. I can’t stand to see my baby in pain.

[Anonymous]

Hi and welcome to the site!

Beth and Laura covered it all. I agree that it could be reflux/intolerances. For my boys, intolerances were what caused their reflux and it took us addressing them with proper formula to get them comfy, along with a good dose of a PPI drug. My first son could do soy formula, and my 2nd refluxer was like what you describe. He had blood in his stool and over the counter hypo formulas like Nutramigen and Alimentum were not good enough for him. He still reacted to the milk protein even though it is so finely broken down. Once he was on Neocate a new baby started to emerge.

Hang in there. “this too shall pass.”

[Anonymous]

OK–so this morning I noticed what appears to be traces of blood in my babies stool. Should I follow my Dr. advice and try Alimentum or go straight to Neocate? Also, how do you give Prevacid to a 7 week old…syringe or in cheek? I am also having a very hard time holding him off for the full 30 minutes. Any tips?

[hellbennt]

blood as in bright red? are stools hard? could be a tiny tiny little tear called a fissure…or does it look like coffee grounds? specks of brown scattered throughout? this is ‘older’ blood…or do you see purplish color? this is the prevacid…

to give the prevacid, many have had success making a liquid by adding some water and using a dropper, like what comes w/ mylicon, to draw up the liquid and squirt in baby’s mouth

as for the timing- email http://www.marci-kids.com

and ask about caracream…maybe you can still get some?

[Anonymous]

The stool was not hard at all and it looked like it normally does. The blood was also not bright red but just a trace amount. It doesn’t look purple to me either. What would the coffee grounds mean?

[hellbennt]

coffee grounds is just a description- if you see what looks like coffee grounds, then this can be blood as well…just ‘older’ blood. more ‘red’ blood is ‘fresher’ and more ‘brown’ blood is ‘older’ – this might mean that the blood is coming from somewhere in the GI tract (if it were more red than it might be coming from closer to the rectum, like a fissure)

Get his stool checked and if it is blood, then I think I’d go for neocate, just to be ‘safe’

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